In July: Cold

Can a man truly return home to his family after seeing the shadows that lurk in the night?

The three men form an uneasy alliance that taps into Western archetypes of the "posse," seeking a brand of justice that the legal system cannot provide. Cold in July

The Shadow of the Father: A Deep Dive into Cold in July On the surface, Joe R. Lansdale’s Cold in July (and its moody 2014 film adaptation by Jim Mickle) presents itself as a standard neo-noir thriller. A normal man, Richard Dane, shoots a burglar in self-defence, only to find himself hunted by the dead man’s vengeful ex-con father, Russel. But as the Texas heat rises, the story shifts from a "home invasion" thriller into something far more unpredictable and emotionally heavy . Can a man truly return home to his

How much of our "civilized" life is just a thin veneer over a capacity for brutality? Lansdale’s Cold in July (and its moody 2014

When Jim Bob Luke (Don Johnson) enters the fray, the tone shifts toward a gory, "southern-fried" vigilante Western . Jim Bob is the archetype of the Texas cowboy—flashy, capable, and unapologetic. Through him, Richard finds a way to channel his fear into action.